Hayes Green Beach Memorial Hospital Cuts 25 Staff Positions

As part of a plan to reduce expenses, Hayes Green Beach Memorial Hospital has notified 25 workers their jobs are being eliminated. A hospital spokeswoman says the job cuts are part of a much bigger plan to reduce the organization's costs by $2 million dollars over the next year.

The small hospital serves a tight-knit community. But the doors aren’t opening as much as they used to. Matt Rush, President & CEO, says “Reimbursements are going down, patients are becoming more economically responsible for their care, so they're kind of holding off on some services. Volumes are declining, there's a big shift in health, not just care."

The shift has the hospital administration taking bold moves to stay financially responsible. Rush says, “As we've kind of tacked against the headwinds of health reform, we now see very clearly we kind of need to start a direct course, and we've developed a comprehensive plan which includes reduction in force, investments, as well as redeployment of resources."

Hayes Green Beach follows other larger hospitals that have already cut staff and tightened budgets. It’s a matter of charting the course for the future, under the nation’s new health care law. Dr. William Strampel, Dean of MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, says, “ Physicians and hospitals and health care are bracing themselves from the standpoint that, nobody likes uncertainty." Rush adds, “We need to be a very different health care facility, we need to take a little more dramatic action now to restructure ourselves."

The hospital says its management team and Board of Directors carefully thought out which jobs would be eliminated. They range from clerical to clinical. Employees were notified Thursday. The cuts took effect Friday.

Matt Rush, President & CEO of Hayes Green Beach Memorial Hospital says, "Based on last year's financial performance and the challenges we will continue to face in this era of health care reform, we knew it was critical to carefully examine how we will do business going forward."

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